The chances are, if you are still reading
this, you may be interested in football-since this phrase isn't generally used
anywhere else-and it also goes to show how football can abuse the body!
Testament to this is the number of injuries sustained in the game and the early
retirement of players (which has nothing to do with the whopping salaries of
course!). Even amateur players tend to often give up due to repeated injuries
which is a shame as so many of these are preventable- and many of the following
tips apply to most sports. So if you like sport and want to continue,
read on…
Good warm up and cool down are so important
and you may be saying "Yes I do that and still get injured" but are
you really being effective? GOOD warm up is starting the game warm and ensuring
muscles are perfused with blood ready for action. This may be gentle jogging at
50% effort , speeding up to 80%, then slow to 50% and using this template for
dynamic stretching of all major muscle groups (see www.aboutbacksandbones for
more detail) Similarly GOOD cool down involves stretches of at least 30 seconds
each- not many people can honestly say they do this and by the time you have
stretched out all the major muscle groups you will have been stretching for at
least 5 minutes. Allowing enough time is so important and is time well spent
when you consider the time spent out with injuries.
Many people who play football or other
sports as a hobby may be quite sedentary during the week and the demand on the
body from stationary postures in the week to hugely dynamic expectations on the
field can take it's toll. Keeping joints mobile in the week can be as simple as
walking up the stairs instead of taking the lift, parking further from work so
you can have a walk in, or try a gentle 10 min jog to wind down at the end of
the working day. Even when lying down to sleep, hugging your knees and rocking
will help articulate the back joints and stretch the back muscles.
So minimising injury caused by inadequate
preparation should not be too difficult- all you have to do now is still to it
as a habit... Oh and avoid those harsh tackles!
Call 01332 553 332
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